[Joe Haller]

A Yooper is a person who lives in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Folks from this part of the country call it Da U.P. We got a lot a folks of Scandinavian decent UP here. Some a us talk wit a accent cuz great grandpa talked dat way. Some a us talk wit da accent cuz it’s fun.

Da lake effect snows off Lake Superior give us lots a dat white stuff in da winter time. One year we had a match planned on December 8th. It started snow’n on Thursday night an be Sunday morn’nun we had 72 inches (6 feet) of new snow on da ground. We had ta cancel da match and wait while tree National Guard units dug us out. Took tree weeks ta do it.

Ya can tell a Yooper, cuz he’s got icicles hang’in from his ears an nose, from late November to early April. We got tree months Spring; tree months Fall; 6 months Winter and no Summer at all. Dem tree months a spring are REAL nice UP here. Da Spring up here starts in June and ends in August. Real nice weather in da Spring. Ya'd really enjoy a Spring Vacation UP here.

An’uder ting about Michigan: We got a 5 mile long bridge dat connects da two Peninsulas. We got a special name for dem guys dat live below Da Bridge. We call dem TROLLS, cuz day hide under da bridge an come up an try ta catch da little Billie Goats Gruff as da cross over da bridge. As da story goes: Day never have caught a Billie Goat yet. Ya ever seen a Troll? Day got little short legs and day can’t run fast enough ta catch a little Billie Goat.


Dat’s my story an I’m stick’in too it.

Joe Haller :-)